Riot City Blues - Primal Scream
User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 27
  3. Negative: 5 out of 27

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  1. MichaelM
    Jul 30, 2006
    0
    All I can say is, "What the Hell?!?" At the first song, I thought they were kidding. By the last, I was still hoping that they were, because offering this turd of a Stones rip-off with a straight face would mean that this once mind-melting band has truly given out and given up.
  2. Steve
    Jun 19, 2006
    4
    Extremely disapointing. I love Primal Scream and was expecting something innovative and catchy, which they always manage to do, until now. There's absolutely nothing interesting here. Just a very bland, shallow album.
  3. BenG
    Oct 23, 2006
    7
    Pitchfork are not the gatekeepers of quality. Sometimes music should be fun, not innovative. I like Primal Scream's forays into electronic music, but it's nice to hear some Give Out-type tunes again.
  4. Giulio
    Jun 14, 2006
    9
    classic 70's stones sound but extremely amusing! It's only rock'n'roll... and I like it!
  5. malfaitk
    Jun 14, 2006
    9
    This is certainly something completely different than Evil Heat and Exterminator, which both were great records. Anyway, it still is fun, different but OK.
  6. Johno
    Jun 24, 2006
    8
    Great refreshing good-time rock n roll. For a band that continually pushes their limits (as they did marvellously on Xtrmntr) , its great to hear them just enjoying themselves. The lyrics are ocassionally lame, but the spirit and the energy gloriously carry the album to the last minute. Takes me back to the exciting early days of Supergrass. This is the album 'Give Out..' should have been… Expand
  7. PaulK
    Aug 30, 2006
    10
    fuck Pitchfork
  8. AlexA
    Sep 18, 2006
    8
    It's good.
  9. BarryM
    Feb 14, 2007
    8
    Are these people so up their own "I'm such a muso" arse that they can't see this for what it is? A bit of fun, a bit of letting loose and jamming. Having fun in the studio after the mind melting previous albums. A lil bit of folkie whimsical nostalgia as we sip on whisky and let ourselves go with the flow. What rubbish some of these reviewers talk. Go find the next best Chilean mountain band playing "break through" never heard the like of it, next-best-thing- for-wankers-like-us-to-try-appear- all-cool-and-musically-superior-with our friends we've ever heard. Piss off. Go listen to a telephone ringing and tell us how it's "sonic pleasure". This album is fun. Very listenable. Not ground breaking, not re-writing musical history, just pure undiluted fun and games...and what is more...great to listen to while getting drunk on a nice single malt. I approve.… Expand
  10. AndrewA
    Oct 30, 2006
    7
    There are some good old rock songs in this cd. Primal Scream is a band to have fun at, not to really think it.
  11. [Anonymous]
    Jun 15, 2006
    8
    Rawk and Roll
  12. mikes.
    Jun 18, 2006
    4
    Disappointed, been a fan of them because of their unique sound. They just haven't come up with anything as innovative Xtrmntr, Evil Heat was like Xtrmntr but not as good. Riot City Blues is a complete change in genre and a big disappointment, songwriting is crap, nothing interesting production wise either.
  13. LeonardoF
    Jun 22, 2006
    3
    Very very poor and uninspired album. C'mon guys, hope you return next time with a new 'Vanishing Point', like you did after the catastrophic 'Give Out But Don't Give Up'.
  14. MarcoR
    Jun 27, 2006
    8
    This album completes the rock triad together with Primal Scream (1989) and Give Out.. (1994).
  15. BeanoF
    Jul 18, 2006
    9
    Class album, all ya'll need to chill the fark out and listen to a bit of guitar music, ok it's different than their last album, but if you want to hear that then listen to that and leave this album to people with a more varied taste
  16. moschops
    Sep 16, 2006
    7
    So they've retreated from doing the more experimental stuff of their best work to do an album of big, dumb, retro party songs. But they are very good at doing big, dumb, retro party songs. You can kind of bet that the next album will be wigged-out electronica...
  17. gastonm
    Nov 12, 2006
    10
    It's a great album.and with this album they show they're just not electronic music. pd1:i love the mandolin solos pd2:the song when the bomb drops is fuckin' great pd:fuck pitchfork and stylus magazine
  18. Dagger.
    Nov 21, 2006
    0
    This harkons back to the the southern bar rock shit storm that was Give Out But Don't Give Up. As much as I hate to side with Pitchfork, this record is indeed horrible. Primal Scream is such a weird band in that they can be so groundbeaking and refreshing on some albums, but totally devoid of any substance like we see with this release. "Little Death" and "When The Bomb Drops" are probably the only decent tracks because they sound like nothinbg else on the album.… Expand
  19. jons
    Jun 22, 2006
    2
    what a load of bollocks!!

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 19
  3. Negative: 4 out of 19
  1. Dot Music
    40
    "Riot City Blues" starts fairly poorly and gets progressively worse.
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  2. musicOMH.com
    80
    Stupid, clichéd, utterly ridiculous for sure, but done with so much pizazz that you can't help but fall for its charms.
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  3. Pitchfork
    23
    It's as if Primal Scream have run completely out of ideas and so they've reverted to the detestable fallbacks of honking harmonicas and bar-band choogles, acting like college freshmen who just discovered blues.
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